Policy paper

Black maternal health: government response to the Health and Social Care Committee

The government's response to recommendations made by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee's inquiry into Black maternal health.

• From: Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 16 December 2025
• Last updated: 16 December 2025 — See all updates

Documents

Government response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s third report of session 2024 to 2026: Black maternal health

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6070-9, CP 1437

HTML

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Government response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s third report of session 2024 to 2026: Black maternal health (web accessible)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6070-9, CP 1437

PDF, 261 KB, 26 pages

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Government response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s third report of session 2024 to 2026: Black maternal health (print ready)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6070-9, CP 1437

PDF, 1.1 MB, 28 pages

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Details

It is a priority for this government to make sure all women and babies receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity.

We agree with the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) that addressing the shocking inequalities that exist across maternity and neonatal care is fundamental to ensuring all women and babies receive safe, personalised and compassionate care.

In our response to the HSCC’s Black maternal health report, we:

• accept the broad points made by the committee
• outline the range of actions already underway to address maternal inequalities for Black women, including on culture, racism, leadership, workforce and data
• do not accept the committee’s recommendation to restore the dedicated ring-fenced Service Development Funding for maternity care. Our approach is consistent with our wider intention to give local healthcare leaders - who are best placed to decide how to serve their local community - more flexibility

In June 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a range of actions to help address maternal inequalities for Black women.

Published 16 December 2025

Last updated 16 December 2025 + show all updates

1. 16 December 2025

   Added 'Government response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s third report of session 2024 to 2026: Black maternal health (web accessible)' PDF version.

2. 16 December 2025

   First published.